Future visions by Aviendha

[shadowofomioc]

The main thing though is that the Seachan have yet to fight against a well organized, channel ready army. They are an army of channelers that are trained to kill. Aes Sedai are training to lead, and fight against the Shadow. But even they have not fought against any channeling Dreadlords or any other channeling warriors. Only the main characters have fought the Forsaken and none are present in the White Tower.

 

Some of the Red Ajah have fought against False Dragons, but that was only a single target. The Seachan, are hundreds of targets channeling with killer training. Simply a mismatch at this point.

 

Now, if the Seachan fight against the Asha'man, it would be a completely different scene. They would be evenly matched, as both squads are trained to kill, first and foremost, with the power. None of the Asha'man save those in Perrin's party have any knowledge of linking however, so it would actually be a straight channeler vs. channeler battle. The Seachan still have the edge though, since Men are weaker with spirit then the women, which makes a woman's shield potentially stronger and more potent then a Man's. They are avoiding the Black Tower though due to not having many male a'dam. Do they have any? Don't think so ...

 

The point of the ter'angreal is noted but still void. Did an Aiel build the ter'angreal for the soul purpose of showing the Aiel their past? Or was it something built in the age of legends that survived that now the Aiel use? If that is the case, then it is not an Aiel ter'angreal. But just one that shows whoever enters it, their family past and now, with Avi activating another function of it, the family future.

[baalsmistress]

Absolutely agree on the suldam vulnerabilty, though the point about circles isn't related to the encirclement aspect, which would not be a real concern on a battlefield in any case. The issue is that we are lead to believe that fighting with the power is like sword fighting. Attack, counter, reposte, counter. What a circle does is to make one channeller vastly stronger. I didn't initially consider the utility of that in terms of just plain brute force pushing a lethal weave through on a target, but was thinking rather in terms of shielding.

 

As you point out, 13 women in a circle vs 13 non-circled women in a lethal duel would most likely be a victory for the non-linked women since they could throw initially 13 times as many weaves in at her and she would be unlikely to be able to weave fast enough to block them all - though the shield that Cadsuane held over Shadar Logoth is a consideration. If you can actually use a circle to shield your army from hostile channelling while you simultaneously deal damage to the enemy - then the circles have it.

[MasterAblar]

None of the Asha'man save those in Perrin's party have any knowledge of linking however, so it would actually be a straight channeler vs. channeler battle.

 

Men can't link without women anyway.

 

The Seachan still have the edge though, since Men are weaker with spirit then the women, which makes a woman's shield potentially stronger and more potent then a Man's.

 

Men are not weaker in spirit than women. Men are generally stronger in fire and earth, while women are generally stronger in water and air. Spirit is split evenly. Not that this really matters anyway, since, not only is strength probably most important in terms of shielding (apart from having the talent for it like that kinswomen), but the Damane and Ashaman wouldn't be shielding each other anyway. They'd be blowing each other up.

 

However, the Ashaman may have psychological advantage in that they are male channellers, which scares the hell out of people. Also the Damane have to have a Suldam by their side which doubles the target. Furthermore the Ashaman can go under cover whereas the Damane can't which is a big advantage. The Ashaman training is also a complete hell. Also the Adam is a disadvantage since it stops Damane from linking which is the equalizer, and of course if you take it off, the Damane will probably go out of control.

 

They are avoiding the Black Tower though due to not having many male a'dam. Do they have any? Don't think so ...

 

The Seanchan aren't avoiding the Black Tower, they just don't know where it is. And even if they did, they know nothing about the Ashaman's numbers, and there's the fact that it's deep into the enemy's territory. And no they don't have any male Adam.

[Kahsm]

Absolutely agree on the suldam vulnerabilty, though the point about circles isn't related to the encirclement aspect, which would not be a real concern on a battlefield in any case. The issue is that we are lead to believe that fighting with the power is like sword fighting. Attack, counter, reposte, counter. What a circle does is to make one channeller vastly stronger. I didn't initially consider the utility of that in terms of just plain brute force pushing a lethal weave through on a target, but was thinking rather in terms of shielding.

 

As you point out, 13 women in a circle vs 13 non-circled women in a lethal duel would most likely be a victory for the non-linked women since they could throw initially 13 times as many weaves in at her and she would be unlikely to be able to weave fast enough to block them all - though the shield that Cadsuane held over Shadar Logoth is a consideration. If you can actually use a circle to shield your army from hostile channelling while you simultaneously deal damage to the enemy - then the circles have it.

 

Uhh, tell that to Egwene.

 

Yes yes, sa'angreal. But the idea is the same. If you get powerful enough, and aren't stupid, you become somewhat relatively invincible. So link Nyn, Elayne, Ahv, Egwene, Alivia, Moir (pre-weakening) together, and I think they'd easily handle their own number of Damane.

 

The problem is it's not fighting like a sword at all. I mean just look at Rand making the ward that raped the Draghkar at Maradon as soon as they got close to him. Maybe bad channelers would fight in a 1v1 sort of way, but that's not how to use a circle effectively. If a small fireball would kill 1 person, then why would you use more power to make a larger fireball to kill 1 person? That makes no sense. If you're going to link, use the strength it gives you properly and don't fight as if you were un-linked.

[MasterAblar]

Absolutely agree on the suldam vulnerabilty, though the point about circles isn't related to the encirclement aspect, which would not be a real concern on a battlefield in any case. The issue is that we are lead to believe that fighting with the power is like sword fighting. Attack, counter, reposte, counter. What a circle does is to make one channeller vastly stronger. I didn't initially consider the utility of that in terms of just plain brute force pushing a lethal weave through on a target, but was thinking rather in terms of shielding.

 

As you point out, 13 women in a circle vs 13 non-circled women in a lethal duel would most likely be a victory for the non-linked women since they could throw initially 13 times as many weaves in at her and she would be unlikely to be able to weave fast enough to block them all - though the shield that Cadsuane held over Shadar Logoth is a consideration. If you can actually use a circle to shield your army from hostile channelling while you simultaneously deal damage to the enemy - then the circles have it.

 

Uhh, tell that to Egwene.

 

Yes yes, sa'angreal. But the idea is the same. If you get powerful enough, and aren't stupid, you become somewhat relatively invincible. So link Nyn, Elayne, Ahv, Egwene, Alivia, Moir (pre-weakening) together, and I think they'd easily handle their own number of Damane.

 

The problem is it's not fighting like a sword at all. I mean just look at Rand making the ward that raped the Draghkar at Maradon as soon as they got close to him. Maybe bad channelers would fight in a 1v1 sort of way, but that's not how to use a circle effectively. If a small fireball would kill 1 person, then why would you use more power to make a larger fireball to kill 1 person? That makes no sense. If you're going to link, use the strength it gives you properly and don't fight as if you were un-linked.

 

If the Damane (or any other channellers capable of fighting) surround the cirle though, it's probably finished. A cirle has to either fight in close quarters (like a hallway), or else have other individual channellers acting like warders, watching their backs. Otherwise it's vulnerable to the greater number of enemy channellers capable of weaving.

[Kahsm]

If the Damane (or any other channellers capable of fighting) surround the cirle though, it's probably finished. A cirle has to either fight in close quarters (like a hallway), or else have other individual channellers acting like warders, watching their backs. Otherwise it's vulnerable to the greater number of enemy channellers capable of weaving.

 

Throw up an air shield, maybe some defensive wards, and let the others tell you what's going on behind you.

 

Also, if we're talking a real battle, 72 linked channelers could probably do some epic damage... or what if it was like... 20 circles of 13 vs 260 damane. If the 20 circles were in an actual circle on a field, you couldn't really surround them.

 

At most I'd say "It depends". Categorically saying individual channelers are better when the number of channelers is equal seems foolish.

[MasterAblar]

If the Damane (or any other channellers capable of fighting) surround the cirle though, it's probably finished. A cirle has to either fight in close quarters (like a hallway), or else have other individual channellers acting like warders, watching their backs. Otherwise it's vulnerable to the greater number of enemy channellers capable of weaving.

 

Throw up an air shield, maybe some defensive wards, and let the others tell you what's going on behind you.

 

Also, if we're talking a real battle, 72 linked channelers could probably do some epic damage... or what if it was like... 20 circles of 13 vs 260 damane. If the 20 circles were in an actual circle on a field, you couldn't really surround them.

 

At most I'd say "It depends". Categorically saying individual channelers are better when the number of channelers is equal seems foolish.

 

I'd say a few large cirles to deal massive damage, along with a number of individual channellers protecting their backs would be a killer combination.

 

The larger the cirle the more vulnerable everyone in it is. In a 72 channeller circle, you have 71 channellers who can do absolutely nothing. So the circle might do great damage but it's numbers will go down fast. If it faces an equal number of individual channellers... Well, I certainly wouldn't bet on that fight.

[SylvanFox]

If the Damane (or any other channellers capable of fighting) surround the cirle though, it's probably finished. A cirle has to either fight in close quarters (like a hallway), or else have other individual channellers acting like warders, watching their backs. Otherwise it's vulnerable to the greater number of enemy channellers capable of weaving.

 

Throw up an air shield, maybe some defensive wards, and let the others tell you what's going on behind you.

 

Also, if we're talking a real battle, 72 linked channelers could probably do some epic damage... or what if it was like... 20 circles of 13 vs 260 damane. If the 20 circles were in an actual circle on a field, you couldn't really surround them.

 

At most I'd say "It depends". Categorically saying individual channelers are better when the number of channelers is equal seems foolish.

 

I'd say a few large cirles to deal massive damage, along with a number of individual protecting their backs would be a killer combination.

 

The larger the cirle the more vulnerable everyone in it is. In a 72 channeller circle, you have 71 channellers who can do absolutely nothing. So the cirle might do great damage but it's numbers will go down fast. If it faces an equal number of individual channellers... Well, I certainly wouldn't bet on that fight.

 

But the one leading the circle can go a certain distance from the circle, right? I thought I remembered this happening in WH. I don't think they all have to hold hands or anything like that.They could sort of hide (thought it's impossible to hide 72 people all that well... unless they're in a forest or something)... They could also be supported by butttloads of Aiel and other channelers. When the Seanchan try to attack the circle, they could come in from the sides and split the Seanchan's attention. There's no way all the damane could just ignore the Aiel. I bet a circle of 72 could bust out some crazy moves. Maybe something similar to that time Rand was lightning bolting everybody when he had Callandor. If they start with something like that, even if it is a little smaller, it will still be devastating. So it could be doable.

 

But it wouldn't be easy at all.

 

Also, use Andor's dragons (cannons). Those have got to come in handy, assuming the Seanchan don't find out before this imaginary battle.

[OneDragon]

Oh right the cannons! totally forgot about those!

 

Anyways worst case scenario a bunch of the strongest chanellers could just gather up the strongest angreal and make the biggest circle and do it the "Rand-way" (or what he was intenting anyways) Balefire away all the seanchan major cities and armies in a flash...

 

Another simple solution would be "The forsaken way": one skilled chaneller going invisible hiding her chanelling ability and then sneak in and use compulsion on Tuon telling her to go back where the seanchan came from, or forcing peace + release of damane... weakness with 1 ruler who can not channel (or will not).

 

There are just to many ways to easily overcome the seanchan, for me to believe that it would actually happen the way we saw it in Avi's vision.

[Cybertrolloc]

I guess start with the boring stuff.

- Seanchan might have male adam, depends on if Semi grabbed them all or not. They most likely don't have suldam to use them (they're total control, not just a few built-in compulsions and a link to mess with whomever's in the leash so the suldam will have to learn to use saidin).

- Ashaman have swallowed the stupid pill lately. Where's the stuff we saw in LoC? I guess the shadow needs to have a ghost of a chance, or maybe had too much of a chance with all those intelligent dreadlords ;)

- For the most part, channelers are very unimaginative about how they use the power, and almost never protect themselves (couple exceptions outside the Forsaken). Note that damane are supposed to protect their suldam because that's a huge weakspot, anything that happens to the suldam is amplified to the damane.

- If Mat and Aludra (some others like Itulrade/Birgitte etc...) could channel, the shadow would be d0med books and books ago :) See previous.

- Obviously better/best tactics change with the situation: whether link would be better than individual channelers.

 

This topic drifted from something more interesting though...

 

- Overall not seeing any obvious shadow influence: seems a light side clear win.

- Rand on DM occurs here probably.

- Tava: Seanchan allied with whoever holds Shara (Far Ones).

- Dragon left us--this is a few generations down though.

- Oncala knew her grandmother's face (Avi). Rand kneels to empress instead of vice versa, but with lots of the main cast missing that shouldn't be...

- Yah, it's one PoV, but Aiel v Seanchan = stalemate, Aiel + allies = omigod :)

- Padra stuff should be self explanatory.

 

So of course it isn't the WoT future, main characters died (especially the spin-off series protagonists).

 

But I'm not seeing much hinting about how the shadow was defeated, and mildly annoyed Avi doesn't comment on whether the appearance of the Caemlyn Palace has changed among other things or things along that line. And it's pretty obvious what Avi's going to do, as long as she doesn't spend too much time out in the waste, only 25 days or so til Merrilor :)

[maryemi'jigede]

But now that Avi knows the potential problem of leaving the Seachan alone, she will not allow it to occur. And yes, the children, or line that you read about, is Rand's line of children. Is it Elayne's blood or Avi's? Rand may have alot of children with all 3 women. Which would point to him living past the last battle.

 

I think if Aviendha is indeed viewing the history of her people through her descendants, then, unless the ter-angreal recognise the "new" Aiel concept of adopting a first-sister, the children must be her blood descendants, and Rand's, so their actual children. That's my take on it anyway.

 

Just some other thoughts I had about it...

 

Judging by the nature and behaviour of the first generation of descendants, i.e. Avi & Rand's kids, I don't think Aviendha was around to wallop them into growing up into decent human beings. And human nature being what it is, I don't think it's too "special" that her descendants choose to say they are the line of the Dragon, rather than the line of Aviendha the Wise One. So if this is what might happen if the Seanchan aren't brought to heel, then Aviendha must die before she gets to make sure her kids grow up to be non-bigheads.

 

Personally I believe she saw a future that reflected her deepest fears at the time, and that she was shown the end in order to guide her current path. My memory is rubbish, but I think that she came to the ter-angreal thinking about her people and her role in their future? So perhaps the ter'angreal responded to that.

 

EDIT: Also, this offers some clues (TDR, Chapter 6, I think it's Moiraine quoting from the KC): He "shall slay his people with the sword of peace, and destroy them with the leaf." He "shall bind the nine moons to serve him." He will heal "wounds of madness and cutting of hope."

 

1 - He shall slay his people with the Sword of Peace - uh-oh. Maybe Aviendha IS seeing the real future. :(

 

2 - And destroy them with the leaf. Double uh-oh. Leaf is probably a reference to the Way of the Leaf?

 

3 - He shall bing the nine moons to serve him. YAY, a light at the end of the tunnel!

 

4 - He will heal wounds of madness and cutting of hope. Double YAY!

 

So maybe the future of the Aiel is bleak, but not for Randland as a whole.

[damandred]

That future is never gonna happen.

Aviendha is gonna sort it.

Buddha Rand is gonna get Mat to get him to see the Empress he's gonna explain what's what, give a polite bow. Wham mo! Prophecy fulfilled.

Then he'll give her a lesson in history and explain keeping clannellers kept like dogs is really not very nice.

Meanwhile Avi's back with a set of bongos and guitar and sings "come by our" a lot. The Aiel have fulfilled their purpose by conquering and uniting Randland for the big boss, so now their going to pool together their wealth and became the worlds first investment bankers. Which for them could well be worst than avi's vision.

[maryemi'jigede]

That future is never gonna happen.

Aviendha is gonna sort it.

Buddha Rand is gonna get Mat to get him to see the Empress he's gonna explain what's what, give a polite bow. Wham mo! Prophecy fulfilled.

Then he'll give her a lesson in history and explain keeping clannellers kept like dogs is really not very nice.

Meanwhile Avi's back with a set of bongos and guitar and sings "come by our" a lot. The Aiel have fulfilled their purpose by conquering and uniting Randland for the big boss, so now their going to pool together their wealth and became the worlds first investment bankers. Which for them could well be worst than avi's vision.

 

LOL @ Buddha Rand.

 

I seriously hope Aviendha is going to use these visions to get a hold of Rand's family jewels and make him order Mat to grow a spine and put Tuon on a leash (Eureka - put the Empress of the Seanchan on a leash!!!)

 

Tuon is turning Elaida-evil I am sure of it (cue Graendal!) - the Aiel are awesome.

[maryemi'jigede]

PS - If RJ was around I'd ask him what would happen if Aviendha walked through the ter'angreal thinking about, say, Tarmon Gaidon, and not the fate of her people?? She was thinking about how the ter'angreal used to be a serious challenge for the Aiel would-be-chiefs, but now, they were just a confirmation of truth. She was worrying about the future of her people, when she stepped through the ter'angreal. Perhaps they responded! And maybe, they just showed her what might be bad, just one way the Pattern might be weaved, if certain decisions were made. Maybe she'll figure out a way to make sure the Pattern is weaved to the Aiel's liking!

[joe11]

As I see it this can't be a definite future...because if it is, then it's certain that Rand et al will win the LB and that can't be true. And if this is only truth if they win LB, then it's not certain but contingent, so changeable. Surely no one / no prophecy can see past LB? All bets are off. No set future.

[MasterAblar]

- Ashaman have swallowed the stupid pill lately. Where's the stuff we saw in LoC? I guess the shadow needs to have a ghost of a chance, or maybe had too much of a chance with all those intelligent dreadlords ;)

 

What do you mean?

[baalsmistress]

As I see it this can't be a definite future...because if it is, then it's certain that Rand et al will win the LB and that can't be true. And if this is only truth if they win LB, then it's not certain but contingent, so changeable. Surely no one / no prophecy can see past LB? All bets are off. No set future.

 

Of course, if rand fails, then allegedly the wheel of time will be broken and the universe remade in the Dark One's design.

 

At which point, all prophecies, Min's included would be rewritten so that can't be an argument against the prophecy.

 

Of course, I consider the issue of the dark one breaking the wheel of time to be nothing more than an idle dream on the part of the dark one. Whether Rand wins or loses, the WoT is not in actual danger. The shape of the next incarnation of the ages on the other hand, is very much in danger.

[Cybertrolloc]

Master Ablar: compare Ashaman strolling through Dumai's Wells (40k Aiel + Tower AS + Wise Ones) and the training scene with how they act later (no personal protection, only able to affect small numbers of targets). They had what, 10 casualties and this is like novices after all? Granted OP effectiveness in battle may have been toned down in the next few books a bit, we don't see that much of it.

 

The Mistress of Baal: Agreed, though I think the dark one getting free possibility has passed. At least Rand seems to say so--the he almost had me lines. At least that's the general impression I get from various author comments I've seen here and there, but I don't follow the very meta-stuff too much since it's inaccessible to people in the books (well maybe the AoL people could provide something, but thus far lots of conflicting opinions of how reality works.)

 

ETA: Oh, about the Avi scene :) I miss anything that wasn't blindingly obvious (last snippet)?

[1Brotherbill]

These future visions still bother me. I don't see how Avi telling the wise ones about it would be helpful. Being that she basically broke the law. After all she isn't a Wise One until she goes through the pillars. Doesn't say anything about going through twice. Maybe Wise Ones know that if you go through the pillars twice the pillars will mess with your mind. After all Avi got a sense that the pillars were kind of alive. So maybe the pillars were just pissed that someone went twice through them.

 

Anyway, if Avi tells the Aiel what she saw won't that be kind of a set the Aiel on the path that her future showed. I can't imagine the Aiel just sitting back and saying hey this people over there in the future they turn us in to garbage eaters. So lets either leave them alone or attack them now. I don't see the Aiel winning in a fight against the Seanchan. The Wise Ones would get rolled over by the Damme. Damme are trained on battle from the day of there capture. The Wise Ones don't channel all that much. So a prolonged war against the Seanchan would lead to all the Aiel Wise Ones leashed and used against the Aiel.

 

Probably the most disturbing part of all the books is here walking through the pillars again.

[Sa'angRAND]

To me these rings showed the future that will occur on the present course:

1) Rand bows to the empress (I don’t have the book with me but there was a quote (in the ring chapter) about the Seanchan never respecting someone who was beneath them i.e. bowing)

2) Rand doesn’t include the Aiel in the Peace of the Dragon, I think excluding the Aiel is in some way tied to the toh that Rand talks about meeting when he sees Rhurac again in Tear.

 

Point 1) I think it is Rands new plan to bind the seanchan to them by bowing, Avi needs/is going to convenience him not too. Also iirc the seanchan prophecy that says Rand needs to bow to the empress was influenced by Ish. And I believe that Ish is playing the LONG game, if Rand wins this turning of the wheel, well there are a lot more turnings in the future. If all channellers are eventually held by A'dams or domination bands then the future Dragon Reborn Reborn will be unable to complete the things he needs to do to win so the shadow will win. So having Rand bow to the empress sets a path where the future dragon will be imprisoned and unable to accomplish his tasks or even know who he is. "I win again Lews Therin"

 

Point 2) I believe that Rand is going to address his toh to Aiel for all his running away by removing them from the peace of the dragon because he knows/thinks he will die during TG and cannot meet it any other way. Avi is going to convince him that he needs to include the Aiel in the peace.

 

Those are my thoughts on this.

[1Brotherbill]

 

If all channellers are eventually held by A'dams or domination bands then the future Dragon Reborn Reborn will be unable to complete the things he needs to do to win so the shadow will win. So having Rand bow to the empress sets a path where the future dragon will be imprisoned and unable to accomplish his tasks or even know who he is. "I win again Lews Therin"

 

 

Ok here is one for you. Being that Rand is going to seal the Dark Ones prison tighter than a drum. And all the channellers are going to be chained or bread out of pattern over the years. Why would the Dark One ever break out of his prison? There would be no battle with the dark one ever again.

 

Another thing the Age of Legends seemed to last a long time. Considerably longer then the current age. There could be a drastic change in culture over the next thousand years. Thomm once told Elayne that when the next age comes to and end he might be the hero of the age in the stories. So it might be that even though Rand bowing to the Empress would be a bad thing for my satisfaction in the books he could bow and the age could go on for ten thousand years where a whole entire race of channelers and servants are bread out of the Seanchan empire.

 

It could be that the empire would be looked as the great dawning of mankind. Even though at the present time the are considered bad. Rand even points out that they are better rulers than he is. It's just the whole no one power thing.

[rageofwar1978]

The main and only difference that will make a tinkers damn is this. the main prophecies on both sides of the ocean are eerily similar. EXCEPT for one thing I noticed a few books back. The seanchan in their arrogance have altered their prophecies to show the dragon kneeling to the empress where in the karaethon (sp?) cycle it shows the exact opposite.

 

If rand kneels to fortuona then what aviendha saw will happen. knowing this I think she will make damned sure it never comes to pass in that way. Also as rand is now a force of light he is much much more powerful then he was when he was under the darkness. After he has returned in moridins body he will be different in many ways but the core of him will be whole. no matter how drawn out he is from tarmon gaidon he will not idly stand by and allow the seanchan to take over and destroy all hes managed to forge together.

 

As a side note my views on the ending are my own but the core of my beliefs regarding how rand will deal with the seanchan are on a whole I think a safe assumption.

[Sa'angRAND]

Ok here is one for you. Being that Rand is going to seal the Dark Ones prison tighter than a drum. And all the channellers are going to be chained or bread out of pattern over the years. Why would the Dark One ever break out of his prison? There would be no battle with the dark one ever again.

 

 

It seems it is just the whole never ending cycle until the DO wins. “In one age, called the third age by some, an age yet to come, an age long past…”

 

Bore is created > Bore is temporarily sealed > Bore is completely sealed back to original level using some power or another > DO is forgotten > Bore is created > … > Bore is created > … > Bore is created

 

So even if all of the channellers are collared, it doesn’t mean that either A) the Seanchan (or other) might not use the collared channellers to Bore another hole because of this “Great Power” source or B) Dark Friends or some other people who happen to avoid being collared might create the Bore.

 

Granted, your point that this might be the Era of a new Age that starts the whole cycle over again and it might be ten thousand years in the future so the Seanchan might rule then fall someone else might rule then fall and channeling might completely leave the human race to be rediscovered another three thousand years later is a very valid point and I could see this story taking that arc if JR was George R.R. Martin. However, I believe and granted this is completely my opinion, that JR doesn’t go for the dramatic and realistically plausible, he is more a romantic, in that he won't kill major characters or make a plot twist that *most* people would/will find distasteful. Seanchan winning to start a new Age and start the cycle over again doesn’t suit his writing style imho. Then again I can be completely wrong and I have to admit that if I am it will probably ruin the series for me since I don’t like plausible; I prefer the good guy(s) to win.

[Din]

I think the simplest answer to OP's question is that we really, really, don't want it to be true.

[jsbrads]

just finished reading it again and I noticed something

 

when she touches it, she senses an awareness, which can explain the old visions better than just you see thru the eyes of your ancestors, the awareness/AI chooses points in history to show you, not random, more comprehensible that a story is formed from the visions.

 

Also time line is not clear, but I believe we will see in the next book that Avi entered the glass pillars before rand healed thy own self on Drangonmount as such the history was going toward her visions future until rand changed the future by his choice to change